Immigration Agents Plan Mass Arrests

January 7, 1988|By JAMES H. TOLPIN, Staff Writer

In a major crackdown on immigration fraud, federal agents are sweeping South Florida today to round up 56 illegal aliens accused of fraudulently applying for legal residency by falsely claiming eligibility as farm workers.

Also being sought are five labor contractors accused of filing false statements on behalf of the applicants to support their claims.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service which dubbed the investigation Operation Cucumber, decided some applications were fraudulent during interviews with applicants who knew nothing about farm work.

When the investigation began three months ago, INS officials in New York said some aliens had told ``very creative stories`` about using a stepladder to pick strawberries, which grow on the ground.

Another alien was quoted as saying he harvested a crop of baked beans.

More than half of the more than 42,000 applications received in Florida between June and October are thought to be fraudulent, INS officials said,

Suspects in Operation Cucumber are to be arrested in Palm Beach, Broward, Dade and Collier counties.

The foreigners charged with pretending to be farm workers in order to improve their immigration status come from Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Jordan, Portugal and Spain.

Grand jury indictments against the 56 illegal aliens and the five contractors charged with lying to help them gain residency through the Special Agricultural Workers program were unsealed on Wednesday in federal court in West Palm Beach.

``It`s perceived to be a major problem, particularly a problem in South Florida,`` said Michael Bander, president-elect of the local chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

But Ira Kurzban, national president of the association, cautioned federal officials against denying applications from legitimate farm laborers who happened to work for contractors who engaged in fraud.

He said he was aware of 50 such wrongful denials by the INS.

Kurzban said some contractors may have profited from lying on the residency applications. The going price for a contractor`s help is said to be $2,500, he said.

INS officials said on Wednesday that the Immigration Reform Act of 1986 permitted farm workers who had worked in seasonal agriculture for 90 days between May 1, 1985, and May 1, 1986, to apply for temporary residency.

``This is an attempt by people to gain some legal status and get permission to work,`` Bander said.

The indictments say that all 61 defendants submitted false immigration application documents in Okeechobee between July 1 and Oct. 20.

The five labor contractors are charged with conspiracy and between nine and 15 counts of fraud each. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The applicants themselves are each charged with fraud.

INS officials said that there have been previous arrests for violations of the Special Agricultural Workers program, although today marks the nation`s first major organized crackdown.

INS officials said on Wednesday that agents would be in position to begin making arrests at 6 a.m. today. The suspects will be brought to the Riviera Beach Border Patrol Station, where they will be booked and assembled for a court appearance at 2 p.m.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed by President Reagan on Nov. 6, 1986. As of October, the government had received a total of 935,547 applications from illegal aliens -- 177,160 under the SAW program and 758,387 under the main amnesty program.